Battlefield 3 is the 11th installment in the Battlefield series overall, and it is the direct successor to the Battlefield 2 video game, which was released in 2005. Battlefield 3, powered by the Frostbite 2 engine, aims to provide the fast-paced and team-oriented online multiplayer for which the series is known. In addition, the game will give the first actual single-player campaign in a numbered Battlefield game and a cooperative mode, which is a first for any Battlefield game, regardless of whether the game is numbered or not. The game also introduces the Battlelog feature, an in-browser service that provides detailed statistics for individual soldiers, such as their Win/Loss ratio, their favorite weapon, how accurate they are, and so on. Platoons, which are similar to clans in that they keep track of the combined statistics of a group, allow for scrimmaging, voice chats, and parties that will attempt to group friends and platoon members into squads together if it is at all possible. Battlelog also enables players to create parties, which will try to bundle friends and platoon members into teams together if possible. In addition, the game can be started through Battlelog, albeit configuration changes must be made in-game.
The campaign takes place in the not-too-distant future of 2014, and players occasionally assume the role of Staff Sergeant Henry Blackburn and other members of his five-person unit. Because Blackburn is being questioned for most of the story about his possible knowledge of an attack on New York, the missions take place in a disjointed, flashback fashion as Blackburn recalls his experience with the PLR. This dangerous terrorist organization may be after chemical and nuclear weapons. The campaign is played in the same manner as the vast majority of previous first-person shooters, with the player employing a variety of weaponry to eliminate foes and progressing through each scenario with the assistance of artificial intelligence allies. The single-player mission, referred to as the “campaign,” does provide some variation, however, since it sometimes allows the player to ride in tanks, planes, and helicopters; although, in contrast to the multiplayer mode, this opportunity to control the vehicles is much less common.
The multiplayer suite includes Conquest, the traditional Battlefield mode in which teams compete to control various points on a map and drain the tickets of the opposing team; Rush, in which attackers attempt to destroy M-Com stations and the defenders must dwindle their tickets to 0 to win; Team Deathmatch, which is self-explanatory; and a Squad-based variation of Rush and Deathmatch in which individual squads try to take the M-Com Stations for themselves or wipe out other details. Several different classes are available, the same as in previous Battlefield games. The Assault class is equipped with assault rifles, medic kits, and defibrillators, which are used to heal and revive comrades. The Support class has light machine guns and carries ammo packs and C4. These items can be used to refill their colleagues with ammunition and demolish tanks and buildings. The Engineer class has submachine guns, a blow torch, and a rocket launcher. They can use the blow torch to repair vehicles and the rocket launcher to destroy them.
Last but not least, the Recon class is equipped with long-range guns and utilizes motion detectors and movable spawn points to locate adversaries and make it possible for friendly spawn spots to be placed wherever on the battlefield. Each weapon also has an unlock tree that unlocks weapon-specific things based on how often and well that weapon has been used. New gadgets and specializations can be unlocked for all classes, and each weapon has its own unlock tree. The same holds for vehicles, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, hummers, jeeps, helicopters, and jets, returning from Battlefield 2.
The game’s console editions allow for a fewer total number of players and have more condensed playing areas. Console incarnations have a maximum capacity for internet gatherings of 24 people. Additionally, the PC version is only compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7, requiring a DirectX 10 or DirectX 11 card to work.
